BBC Future links wildbeimwild.com in major raccoon report

The renowned British science desk BBC Future referred to an article by wildbeimwild.com in a recent piece of research on the history and controversy surrounding raccoons in Germany.

This shows: our work on the scientific classification of the EU invasive species list is also reaching a specialist audience internationally.

What BBC Future reports

In the article “The controversial story of the North American raccoons wreaking havoc in Germany”, the journalist Matthew Ponsford reconstructs the history of raccoons in Germany, from the debunked legend that Nazi official Hermann Göring personally ordered the release of the animals, to today's population size of an estimated two million animals.

Central to the article is the assessment by wildlife ecologist Berit Michler of the Thünen Institute. In Müritz National Park she led the longest and largest European field study on the raccoon to date, and concluded that there is no evidence that the animals pose a significant threat to native biodiversity. At this point BBC Future refers directly to our article «Raccoons do not belong on the EU list of invasive species», in which we documented the lack of a scientific basis for the EU-wide classification of the raccoon as an invasive species.

A debate with two sides

BBC Future presents the position in a nuanced way. Torsten Reinwald of the German Hunting Association disagrees with Michler's assessment and points to studies by the Goethe University Frankfurt which are said to demonstrate negative effects on amphibians and their clutches. This refers to the research project ZOWIAC. What the BBC article does not mention: As we showed in our article «ZOWIAC and the hobby hunting lobby: how a raccoon study is being instrumentalised», at ZOWIAC it is largely hobby hunters themselves who collect the samples, while the state hunting associations of Hesse and Bavaria support the project and promote it in a publicity-effective manner. So those with an interest in more kills help shape the data basis here, a methodological conflict of interest that seriously calls into question the scientific independence of such figures. Studies compiled by hobby hunters for the purposes of hobby hunting accordingly find little resonance in the rest of the scientific world.

This discrepancy between the public appearance of supposedly neutral «institutes» or «research projects» and their actual closeness to the hobby hunting lobby is no isolated case. We have also documented this pattern in our fact check «When the ‹institute› defends hobby hunting». Overall, the article makes clear: a sweeping narrative of the raccoon as a «plague» cannot be unequivocally supported scientifically, any more than the opposite assumption of complete harmlessness. According to Michler in the article, the ecological effects of the raccoon in Europe are still too little researched overall, which makes it all the more important to examine who stands behind the individual studies and which interests resonate within them.

This controversy is also relevant to the debate about hobby hunting in Switzerland. Where populations are released for the kill by citing alleged threats to native wildlife, it is worth taking a look at the actual data situation, as our dossier on neozoa and hobby hunting in Switzerland as well as our articles in the categories Hunting and Environment & Nature Conservation set out in detail.

What long-term research in the Müritz National Park shows

This very data gap, which Michler addresses in the BBC article, can be filled with concrete figures from the Müritz National Park itself. National park director Ulrich Messner reports on a multi-year study in which thousands of raccoon droppings were collected and analysed under the microscope. The result clearly contradicts the prevailing image: raccoons are, according to this, above all omnivores with a high proportion of plant matter, feeding mainly on what is abundant and easy to catch, such as earthworms, snails and mussels. Mammals make up only around six per cent of their diet, birds even only about three per cent, even though the raccoon is often said to prey precisely on protected bird species.

These figures come from the same region and the same research environment on which Michler's statement in the BBC article is also based, and thus additionally underpin why the blanket classification as an ecological threat stands on scientifically shaky ground.

«A Heart for Raccoons»

Fitting to the topic, we published a new ARD video yesterday: «A Heart for Raccoons». It shows the situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where raccoons cause conflicts with residents in gardens, rubbish bins and under roofs. The animal welfare activist Heike Gronow campaigns there for a factual, animal-friendly approach to the animals and demonstrates how conflicts can be resolved non-violently, instead of reflexively resorting to killing by hobby hunters.

Further articles on the topic of wild animals can be found in our category Wild animals as well as in the complete video media library.